On the left is a silk shop, the sign reads "Wu's Cloud Brocade." The shopkeeper, a Suzhou native, softly introduces to the customers: "This piece, 'Moonlight', is newly woven in Jiangnan. It has golden thread that shines at night, beloved by the wives of Yangzhou salt merchants..."

On the right is a tea shop, with dozens of tin cans behind the counter. Handwritten labels on red paper mark the names of teas like "West Lake Longjing," "Wuyi Rock Tea," and "Lu'an Melon Seed Tea."

Seemingly catching Li Yan's gaze, the clerk at the tea stall at the door promptly smiles and says, "Would the guest like to come in and taste our tea? We Yangzhou people emphasize 'morning tea, evening wine.' A pot of tea in the morning, with sesame seed cake and buns, and you can sit for an hour..."

Li Yan quickly waves his hand in refusal, and the clerk doesn't insist, quickly attending to other guests.

Not only the shops, but there are also quite a few stalls on both sides of the street.

There is a vendor selling "Linqing Cloth," embroidered with orchids in the bamboo basket, with dense stitches...

A pedicurist carrying a pole, one end with a small stool, the other with a copper basin, and a red paper with "Yangzhou Pedicure" written on the stool...

There's also a storyteller setting up a small stage in front of a teahouse, clapping his wooden block, he starts telling the story of "Wu Song Fighting the Tiger" from Water Margin. A crowd gathered around, children tiptoeing, elders shaking palm-leaf fans, with continuous laughter and applause.

Such prosperity, Li Yan has rarely seen even after traveling far and wide.

Sha Lifei is even more engrossed, clicking his tongue in admiration.

"This is East Gate Street."

Fatty Lin introduces in a low voice, "Yangzhou is a place built along the water, with the Canal running through the city. Water gates are set at 'East Gate' and 'South Gate', open at 7 a.m. and close at 3 p.m. daily. Passing freight boats, salt boats, and merchant ships all need to enter the city through the water gates, nonstop day and night."

While speaking, the three have already crossed the street and stepped onto the stone steps by the Canal bank.

And on the Canal, grain boats are filled to the brim and stretch as far as the eye can see, with officials using bamboo poles to board the boats for inspection at intervals.

"Good heavens, that's a lot of grain..."

Sha Lifei is dumbstruck.

Fatty Lin shakes his head, "Yangzhou is a hub for the court's grain transportation, bearing the heavy responsibility of transferring grain from Jianghuai to the Capital. This is just a fraction; every spring and summer, shipping boats set off from various Jiangnan prefectures, carrying rice, wheat, millet, and other grains via the Canal to Yangzhou. That's the bustling scene."

"Besides, the city has over sixty granaries like 'Changping Warehouse' and 'Guangchu Storehouse,' capable of storing millions of piculs of grain. Hence, it's said 'if Yangzhou is stable, the grain transport is smooth; if the grain transport is smooth, the Capital is adequate.'

Fatty Lin's words are not without basis.

Li Yan squints slightly, instantly guessing his meaning, and whispers, "Brother Lin's point is, the target of those pirates is the grain warehouses in the city?"

"It just occurred to me as well."

Fatty Lin's face turned grim, "My Lin Family also rose as a grain merchant, very familiar with these things. This year's astronomical changes will inevitably lead to famine in many places. If Yangzhou falls, refugees from various regions will surge, and if someone incites them in secret, it would be a catastrophic disaster!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yan and Sha Lifei both frowned.

Fatty Lin's speculation is highly possible; otherwise, it's hard to explain why those pirates would venture thousands of miles, risking encirclement, to make trouble in Yangzhou.

Gazing at the garrison soldiers stationed every ten paces on the street, Li Yan muses thoughtfully, "There are many wise men in the court who likely thought of this point, which is why they've mobilized heavy troops to support."

"No worries, let's find the contact first and talk."

Fatty Lin nods, leading the two and continuing forward, pointing at several rivers connected to the Canal, "The water network within Yangzhou City is dense, with intersecting tributaries, such as 'Little Qinhuai River' and 'Wen River,' both connecting to the Official River. The Yanmen Branch Brother Yan mentioned should be on Little Qinhuai River. It only opens in the evening; during the day, it's too conspicuous, so let's go a bit later."

"Come on, let's find a place to eat something first."

Saying so, the pair turns into an alley and arrives at a "Zhang's Ten Flavor Noodles" shop.

The shop is small, with four square tables, all occupied.

The shopkeeper is an old man from Yangzhou, with a booming voice, "Several guests, would you like two bowls of ten flavor noodles? With or without bamboo shoots, shredded meat?"

"The full set, and brew a pot of tea."

Fatty Lin is well acquainted with this place. After calling out, he leads the two to a window-side private room on the second floor. Watching the bustling scene outside, he sighs, "I was mischievous in my youth, often sneaking around with those shopkeepers. Every time we came to Yangzhou, we'd visit this little shop. The old shop owner has probably passed away, and the new staff doesn't recognize me."

While speaking, the staff already served three bowls of noodles, steaming hot, topped with Sichuan pepper, fennel, egg strips, bamboo shoots, and doused with a spoonful of hot soup, emitting an enticing aroma.

Additionally, there are some chilled dishes like crystal pork.

The taste of Huaiyang cuisine is naturally indisputable, and this small shop's craftsmanship is quite commendable. Coupled with the exhaustion from their journey, the three of them polish off the meal in no time.

Just as they took a sip of tea, they heard a commotion outside the window.

The three of them looked up, only to see two salt boats colliding on the canal. The men on the boats drew their blades, glaring angrily, cursing continuously, and soon they were fighting.

Their movements were extremely agile, leaping and bounding on the boats as if on flat ground. Their blade techniques were fierce and lethal, and in the blink of an eye, several men fell dead into the water, staining the river red.

Li Yan frowned, "Is this... 'ship boxing'?"

"Brother Yan has sharp eyes." Fatty Lin nodded in agreement.

Li Yan nodded, "I've long heard of its great reputation, this is the first time seeing it, it truly is remarkable."

Nanhu Boat Boxing, popular in the Jiaxing Nanhu region, can be traced back to the time of the Wu and Yue rivalry.

The "Jiaxing City Chronicles" records: "The Yue people on boats utilized oars as weapons, practicing the art of thrusting and stabbing." As the Cao Yun prospered, ship boxing became a unique skill for escorts, emphasizing "steady footing, swift hands, and agile steps."

Performed on the narrow space of a boat's bow, appearing to open and close, using the body as an axis to spin in place, weapons often being modified water tools like oars and harpoons, highly suitable for water-based combat.

Of course, the three were merely onlookers, too lazy to get involved in these pugilistic affairs.

"Tsk tsk..."

Watching the arriving garrison soldiers drive away the crowd, Sha Lifei shook his head slightly, "Fatty, are you familiar with the pugilistic ways here?"

"I know a little."

Fatty Lin replied truthfully, "Besides the Cao Gang, Pai Sect, and Tai Lake's green forest bands, there are also many aristocratic family traditions. For instance, in Yangzhou City, the most famous is the Zhang Family's 'Martial Scholar Fist'."

"The Zhang Family is rumored to be descendants of Tang Xiang Zhang Jiuling. In the past three generations, seven members became Martial Scholars, creating the 'Zhang's Martial Scholar Fist'. Their unique technique 'Seven Star Step' is famous throughout the pugilistic world..."

"In Guangling, people are skilled in the Five Animals Qigong, which is also very popular in Yangzhou. Many martial artists 'practice in the markets at dawn, perform on the outskirts at dusk', right around this East Gate Street area..."

"Moreover, Yangzhou is the base of the Lianghuai Salt Transport Department, 'Among all salt merchants, seven or eight out of ten gather in Yangzhou'. These salt merchants are exceptionally wealthy, having built numerous gardens and hiring various Martial Arts and Mystical Sect experts as guards."

"Honestly, with this kind of force, it's odd that pirates would dare to come here."

Li Yan was thoughtful, speaking softly, "I'm just afraid that it's not just the pirates coming..."

After finishing a pot of tea, the sun finally set westwards.

The sunset shone through the bridge arches onto the river, casting a shimmering layer of golden scales.

The three promptly stood up, hiring a black canopy boat in the Water Lane beside East Gate Street and entered the Little Qinhuai River.

This place was certainly not comparable to the real Qinhuai River, but it was a typical Jiangnan waterscape.

The river could only accommodate two boats side by side, with white-walled, black-tiled residential houses on both banks, stone revetments beneath the walls, willows planted along the banks. The willow branches drooped over the water, rustling against the boat's canopy in the night breeze.

The boat moved slowly, with lanterns gradually lighting up on both banks, as if floating in a painting.

On the banks, women squatted at the bows of boats washing clothes, the sound of wooden mallets beating clothes went "bang bang", and in the distance, a boatwoman began to sing a soft, intoxicating Yangzhou tune.

Sha Lifei chuckled, "This doesn't seem like there's a pirate raid coming..."

Fatty Lin shook his head, replying solemnly, "Yangzhou has been peaceful for a long time, the people likely don't take it seriously."

As they spoke, the boat had reached the middle section of the Little Qinhuai River.

They saw a three-story white building built by the river, hung with colorful silk lanterns, and even a stage built on the water, with many black canopy boats watching from below.

Above the black wood main door of the white building was a signboard, with the words "Qionghua Building" written prominently.

"We're here, this is the place." Fatty Lin quickly instructed the boatman to stop.

"No rush."

However, Li Yan suddenly stopped the two who were about to disembark, pondering, he asked the boatman softly, "Old sir, do the people of Yangzhou City really like to keep cats?"

Upon hearing this, Fatty Lin and Sha Lifei realized that, without knowing when, numerous cats had densely appeared in the street corners along the banks, in the willow trees, and even on the rooftops.

These cats appeared lazy, but their sheer number was unnerving...